I love it when my Mexican friend Arturo comes to visit, we always cook up something “muy delicioso”. This time Arturo introduced us to huevos motuleños. Have you ever heard of huevos motuleños? Think seriously over-the-top huevos rancheros—fried eggs over refried black beans on a fried tortilla, topped with salsa, and served with fried plantains,...

Updated recipe, from the recipe archive, first posted in 2007. Check out the comments section for some great ideas on other things to cook with smoked paprika! ~Elise I first experienced smoked paprika on a trip to New Zealand several years ago in a sweet potato soup. My host laughed as my eyes lit up...

Spaghetti pasta alla carbonara. Luscious and wonderfully indulgent, it takes as long to make as it does to cook the spaghetti. The ingredients are simple, just spaghetti (or other long pasta), pancetta or bacon, eggs, Parm, a little olive oil, salt and pepper. A silky sauce is created when the beaten eggs are tossed with...

Please welcome my friend and guest author Stephanie Stiavetti who writes The Culinary Life food blog. Stephanie shares her recipe for a Dutch baby, also known as a German pancake. It’s sort of like a sweet version of Yorkshire pudding. So good! ~Elise I’m a huge pancake fan. When I was little I would have...

Do you like raw oysters? My brother Matt lives in Point Reyes and has access to wonderful oysters from Tomales Bay. Lately he’s been bringing a few dozen with him when he comes to visit. The oyster eaters among us gather and have quite the feast when he arrives. My favorite accompaniment to fresh, raw...

Have you ever noticed how crowded restaurants are on Valentine’s Day? Every table is a two-top, the menus are often fixed, and the staff frantically busy. After several misfires over the last few years, I’ve given up with going out that night, and instead focus on lovely dishes we can make at home. Here is...

Although the days are getting longer, the sun just beginning to ride a little higher in the sky, the nights are still bone-chilling. Honestly, I never look forward to winter. But when I’m smack in the middle of it, I do appreciate its comforts—warm clothes, thick blankets, an excuse to use the fireplace, and a...

I’ve always been a fan of onion dip, have you? Especially with ruffled potato chips. Most of the flavor in the onion dip with which many of us are familiar comes from a package of dried onion soup, which works if you have only 2 minutes to put together a dip. But if you are...

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord as he shares a lip-smacking recipe for mushroom stir-fry he recreated from one he enjoyed in China. ~Elise During a recent trip through China I ate a lot of life changing food. Sichuan stir-fried duck tongues, homemade noodles in beef sauce, spicy lotus root with ginger, Sandouping-style boiled peanuts,...

“Got knots?” Simply Recipes contributor Hank Shaw does, and boy are they good. Enjoy! ~Elise When I was a kid growing up in New Jersey, one of my absolute favorite after-school treats would be to walk over to Ferraro’s, dig through my pockets for loose change and buy some garlic knots — garlicky, buttery rolls...

Updated. First posted in 2005. Now here’s a good one for a cold winter day. Talk about melt-in-your-mouth delicious! A hefty pork shoulder is slathered with a rub of fennel seeds, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and garlic and set to marinate for a day or two in the fridge. It is then nestled in a bed...

Although at first glance it may not look like it, with our Northern California sunny skies and green lawns, winter truly is here. The leaves have all fallen. The fish in the pond are half asleep. Several of the lettuces in the garden have succumbed to frost, while the chard and parsley thankfully are thriving....